1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to connectors and in particular to a connecting element for optical waveguides, especially glass fibers, comprising a carrier shell and a cover shell that can be joined to the carrier shell, and a guide channel for the optical waveguides.
A similar connecting element is disclosed in German utility model 7,517,996. In this element the guide channel is formed in the carrier shell. The ends of the optical waveguides to be spliced are inserted into the guide channel and glued together. Thereupon the cover shell is mounted, while the optical waveguides, which are disposed freely in the areas of their interface in the guide channel in the carrier shell, are pressed into the guide channel and are there aligned and centered, and the carrier shell and the cover shell are glued together. For additional security, either a flexible tube made of heat-shrinkage material is pulled over the joined carrier and cover shells, or a spring clip is clamped on. A disadvantage of this arrangement is that the optical waveguides can easily be damaged when they are inserted into the guide channel in the carrier shell and must be held until the connecting element is closed by means of the cover shell. Furthermore, the assembly of the connecting element for optical waveguides, which as a rule consists of three parts, namely the carrier shell, the cover shell and the flexible tube or the spring clip, is relatively cumbersome.
Furthermore, a different connecting element is known from German patent 3,225,657 and it includes a curved rod having a bore of triangular profile. The disadvantages described in connection with the aforementioned patent do not exist in this case. However, producing the triangular bore in the longitudinal direction of the curved rod is extremely difficult and expensive.